Special thanks to FBC9, my first ever supporter for this novel.
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Chapter 12
"Hey, Jackson, calm down man," Todd said, familiar with Jackson's behavior from the looks of it.
"I asked what were you doing in there with her?" Jackson asked, his expression ugly.
I, who wasn't in the mood to accommodate his nature at the moment, turned to Sara without saying anything to him and said, "We're leaving."
I was already in a very bad mood. I was worried I might do something that wouldn't spell good for me. All said and done, I was the outsider here.
"Did you just ignore me?!" Jackson jumped at me but he was held back by Dan, who was looking at Jackson like he was a madman and said, "Hey, Jackson, calm down. You're making us all look bad."
Least to say, except for Jackson, everyone here was good in character. Even Jackson could be counted as a good person but his current reaction was compelling me to change my opinion of him.
"Enough! Jackson, we were just talking." Sara said, her voice containing slight anger as she spoke to Jackson in a little loud voice.
"Shut up, you bitch! I'll get to you in a minute!" Okay, now that was not a nice thing to say and I was about to teach him a lesson when Sara stopped me by grabbing my arm.
I looked at her and she worriedly shook her head. She was terribly mistaken that I couldn't fight a beefy guy like Jackson who was athletic as well.
But, someone else beat me to it before I could make Sara back off. Mira punched Jackson in the face which he couldn't react to. Of course, Mira's punch was amateur as well.
Everyone was stunned at that when Mira said, "Don't call my sister that."
You tell him, girl.
Jackson, who was in shock, quickly recovered. It wasn't pain that shocked but the fact that someone dared to touch him. He punched back, obviously. I pulled Sara off and moved but once again, someone beat me to it.
Between Mira's face and Jackson's punch, another face appeared, and when Jackson's fist landed on that face, an incredible crack was heard throughout the audience.
Ross fell on the floor, his face bloodied, and passed out.
When everyone saw who it was, and how serious it was, they knew the matter wasn't just a small disagreement over jealousy anymore.
"Jackson! Are you out of your mind!?" Lucy yelled at Jackson which Jackson, once again, didn't like.
"Shut up, you slut!" Jackson yelled.
Hearing her girlfriend being cursed at, Dan forgot about any friendship. He pushed Jackson a little hard, "Don't call her that!"
Okay, where's the popcorn?
"You fucker!" Jackson also pushed back. Only his push was harder and stronger, throwing Dan on the ground, his head banging on the wall.
"Are you crazy?!" Lucy shrieked as she left Ross's side to Mira and made her way to her boyfriend.
"Jackson! That's enough!" Sara once again got involved which attracted Jackson's attention to her.
Her moved to her without saying a word but there was obvious anger on his face. I, of course, stood in his way.
"Out of my way, you fuck!" He yelled but I, being the pacifist I was, said calmly, "Don't, Jackson."
A clean warning. If he still didn't stop, well, then that was completely on him.
"YOU FUCKER!" Jackson finally lost it and a big punch headed my way. Now, I wasn't a fighter. I hadn't mastered hundreds of martial arts like those protagonists from the movies.
All I knew was how to throw punches. Only my punches were so strong and fast that no one could stand up to them.
It could be mistaken as a technique, but it wasn't. There was no proper form behind my attacks and the karate instructor at the school said that I needed to train my foundation.
But I never needed technique. As long as my punch landed, it did the damage I wanted, and with it being so fast, there was no way anyone could react.
So I was getting by. Of course, I broke many unnecessary bones in between but that wasn't the point here.
The point was that I wasn't a fighter. I had no technique in my attacks. But, that changed today.
As soon as Jackson's fist was in range, I quickly struck him in his forearm, canceling the blow before I struck his temples with a pointed finger strike. I made sure not to put too much power else I risked him dying.
Oh yes, dying. I saw Rox use this move to kill, not neutralize, kill people. I wasn't as strong as him but my opponent wasn't as strong as Rox's opponents. Believe me when I say, this was a chance.
Thankfully, he didn't die and just blacked out and fell. Everyone else around me was stunned at the display of my skill.
"Don't." I stopped Sara who was about to help Jackson and said, "You're getting Betty and getting in the car with her and Mira."
"But I can't just leave him here," Sara argued.
"I'll get him home," Aaron offered, knowing the situation was really tense. Meanwhile, Todd offered to take Dan and Ross to the hospital to get them checked.
Everyone agreed on the arrangement and I said, "I'm sorry guys. I didn't mean to ruin your night."
"Oh, you're cool. He's the jerk." Lucy said and since she said so, "Yes, yes, he is. You're cool, bro. Cool." Dan quickly said even though he was using Lucy's shoulder to support himself while clutching his stomach.
He was whipped.
~~
The short episode came to an end. Sara remained quiet in the car ride while Mira filled the oblivious Betty in on what happened while she was in the bathroom.
But, that wasn't the focus of the matter here. That was a small episode.
"How long?" I asked. The entire car remained silent. Sara and Betty knew what I was talking about so they remained quiet but Mira asked, "How long what?"
"Betty knows what I'm talking about," I said.
"Oh," Mira said as if realization struck her.
"You knew as well? Was I the only one who didn't know anything?" I asked.
"You live in LA, Tyler," Mira argued.
"And apparently all the means of transportation in the world aren't available to me," I replied.
"We just didn't want to worry you," Sara replied.
"I'm so touched by your concern." I remained sarcastic. I was angry after all.
"And what could you have done?" Mira asked.
"I could have broken a few bones of the guy," I replied.
"He's part of a biker gang," Mira replied.
"Then why the hell did her mother marry him?" I asked.
"He's… uh…" Mira was awkward, not really knowing how to say it.
"Hung?" I asked.
"…Yes," Mira replied.
"And how do you know that?" I asked.
"I heard Kara bragging to Mom. She also said a few other things." Mira replied.
"And that's apparently enough of a reason to let your daughter get abused?" I asked.
"She doesn't know," Betty replied.
"Why the hell she doesn't? Why haven't you told her?" The questions were endless.
"Because her mother gave him the entire company. He leaves, he takes the company." Sara answered.
"Fuck." I replied. If it was a legal matter, then I doubted I could do anything. DAs these days were desperate to find a big family to squeeze. After all, no matter how much of a giant I was, I was no match for the government.
"Okay, I get that. But why have you not gone to the police?" I asked. Legality could have been used both ways.
"I did." She replied, her eyes moist.
"He went after Lizzie," Sara added.
We arrived at home by the time our conversation ended. In the end, I had nothing to say. Betty was protecting her sister and their future. I couldn't reprimand her on that.
"I think we're all stressed. A good night's sleep will help us all." Mira suggested among the stifling silence in the car. We were still in the car even though we'd already arrived at our destination.
"Sure," I replied and got out first. As I went in, I bumped into my uncle, "Oh, hey champ. Didn't see you there."
He was smoking out on the balcony.
"Hey Mister Miller," I said while I shook his hand and said, "I was just out with Sara and Mira."
"I know. Elise told me. So how was it? How are the kids of this place?" He asked.
"Not too bright but not douches like LA's kids either," I replied.
"Hahahaha. What else do you expect from a quiet atmosphere? That's one thing I like about this place." Tom, Aunt Elise's husband said. He was a business owner here in Pittsburgh. Other than that, he handled my aunt's business as well which she inherited from my grandpa. By the way, my Mom's share was handled by me.
"I'll let you freshen up now. See you at dinner." Tom said and I nodded, heading in. Shortly after I came in, the girls did as well. I, however, went straight to my room to freshen up.
I needed to act normal at the dinner.